Maximilian Wyatt Max Mendoza was 12 when he died on July 3, 2021, in Chula Vista, California. The shooting happened during a sleepover at the Woodland Hills Condominium Complex; Max suffered a visible gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at a local hospital after paramedics’ efforts.

Police reported the firearm had been brought to the sleepover by a 15-year-old friend. That teenager was detained and questioned, then released; authorities described the death as accidental and continued investigating how the gun was accessed and brought into the home. Family members remembered Max as kind-hearted and mature, a soccer and skateboarding enthusiast, and friends and neighbors held vigils and left remembrances.

No arrests or charges were announced and the community urged greater attention to firearm safety. If anyone has information about how the firearm came to be at the sleepover, please come forward.